The Speed of God (Part 2)

In a study I recently came across, participants were asked to sit alone in an empty room for fifteen minutes with instructions to entertain themselves with their own thoughts. If at any point they found that time too painful, they could choose to administer an electric shock to themselves. Sixty-seven percent of the men and twenty-five percent of the women chose to shock themselves.

 

I now have questions. As in, if this study were ever replicated in a church, I’d be curious to know if the results would be similar or significantly different than the one conducted at UVA. Do men generally have a harder time being still and unoccupied? Is this study in any way a reflection of the spirit of the age in which we live? What about the Christian practices of prayer and meditation? Clearly, the lack of internal contentment incites the need for external stimulation. So much so that people are willing to shock themselves.  

 

I made the observation in Part 1 of this short series that it’s against the Way of Jesus to put Doing before Being, that the grammar of the Gospel is that the Indicative should always come before the Imperative. To transpose those two modes proves deadly to one’s spiritual walk with Christ and creates ever more cycles of anxiety (work harder, do more) and depression (it’s never enough, I’m stuck in a loop). To continue operating in a Doing-in-order-to-Be pattern is to continue shocking yourself rather than learning to be still long enough to content yourself with Christ, His world, and your place in it.

 

In this post I want to observe another and equally deadly transposition: putting Law in front of Grace. It’s obvious to say that Exodus 19 comes before Exodus 20, yet the implications, that Grace precedes Law, are significant. God carries His people on eagles’ wings out of slavery as an act of pure grace (Ex. 19), and then tells them that the way to stay truly free is to live in line with His law (Ex. 20) as an expression of His moral character.

 

However, when we resist accepting God’s grace (He loves and accepts us in spite of our inability to keep the law) and instead attempt to live by the law (He will love and accept me if I keep the rules and standards), we will find ourselves in a nasty anxiety-depression loop. Not only will that cause grief and pain to the one working at law-keeping, those who live and work with the law-keeper will also suffer for it.

 

For example, let’s say there’s a guy named Jim who has some ambition inside him. When Jim looks around and sees what other ambitious guys are doing and where it gets them, he gets motivated. Now let’s say Jim has two friends, Bob and Dave. Bob and Dave also have ambition, but their ends—how they define success—are different than Jim’s.

 

Let’s go on to say that Jim’s unspoken but very real definition of success is measured in material goods. Bob is also interested in having things, but he’s not as driven about that as Jim is. For Bob, success is more about achievement and rank in his military career. As for Dave, while he does enjoy boating at Jim’s lake house, and while he really respects Bob’s climb up to working at the Pentagon, Dave is mostly psyched about his family—his wife and three kids.

 

Now let’s note a naturally occurring dynamic when we set our heart on something, even good things like property and work and family. When we set the eyes of our heart on something we desire, there immediately comes with it a set of laws we must keep in order to achieve success.    

 

Jim is driven to work many hours a week in order to create the revenue stream he needs to possess the things he uses to measure success. The law of a rising standard of living demands it. Bob will not only do the required work of the Marines, he will go above and beyond the call of duty to obtain the next rank up. The law of honor and image demands it. Dave, on the other hand, will never miss a game or event his kids are in. The law of family respect demands it.

 

Add to this the fact that laws always require a sacrifice. For Jim and Bob, they may well have to sacrifice time with their families to get the what and the where of their desires. For Dave, he may well have to sacrifice a job promotion and newer material goods to have the kind of family life he wants.

 

But what if Jim’s wife is increasingly lonely and is asking for him to be home more? What if Bob’s wife feels like she’s in competition with all the accolades Bob receives so she begins an emotional connection with a co-worker who affirms her? What if one of Dave’s kids begins to rebel and embarrass the family in public? Jim, Bob, and Dave are now being confronted by the graceless laws that govern them, and they will face a terrible and emotional decision: either double down and try harder (hello anxiety) or be judged a failure (hello depression).

 

Jim might become increasingly frustrated with his wife, and as a way to justify himself Jim might accuse her of not being grateful for all the work he’s doing to provide for her. Bob might become incensed when he finds the secret messages his wife and her male counterpart are exchanging, and as a way to justify himself he could seek consolation from other officers who’ve experienced the same thing. Dave might experience shame and the anger that comes with it over his child’s foolishness, and he may justify himself by cutting off his delinquent child so he doesn’t have to deal with being judged by the very law he’s following.  

 

Finally, apply all of this to the Christian life. If you’ve been led to believe that to stay in good standing in the eyes of God and your fellow Christians is through law-keeping, you’re going to end up feeling judged. You’ll then face a terrible and emotional decision: double down and try harder or feel as though you’re a failure. Then the cycle of anxiety and depression will kick in.

 

I’ve encountered a few too many people who’ve grown up this way. And what a travesty. After thinking they’ve encountered Christianity by working the Law-before-Grace life and are completely worn out by the cycle of anxiety and depression, some choose to opt out—they walk away from what they think is Christianity but in fact is a false gospel.

 

Because Christian law-keeping is the way we demonstrate our love for Jesus and not the conditions under which we earn and keep His unearnable love for us.